Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-09-17
THE EQUlNOCTtAL STORM.
An Old Notion Which q study Of the
Weather Map shows 60 be Err0aeOus.

To the Editor of THE EVENING STAR:
1t Is difficult for the world to give up fits hobbies
and especially difficult when those hobbies have
for years and even for ages had the support OF the
best Intelligence OF the world. But q wise man
should ever be ready to receive the truth no mat.
ter how much 1t may oppose his scholastic train
ing and expose that to rfdicule. The world is full
OF examples OF this character, which IL weuld not
seem necessary to here refer 10 In detail People
who still have unbounded faith In the eQuinoetial
storm should consider that no sensible person
wants futhlessly to set; we might say, time-hal-
lowed notion, aside, and that no honest person
wants to oppose old notions unless he has some
81 ea o5aa e os hoa apSe
the world, but not more strange than three-quar-
tiers OF the teachings In this department prior to
our having some accurate Information on the sub
lect. Not until We had charts and maps could we
know much Of value about the distribution OF the
i h ana watef OF the globe; and 50 not until we
the United states, could we know much OF value
about the atmospheric conditions OF our earth.
dreamed OF. By the map we learn that the storm
Senters arc all the while on the move; that the
highs" which cause the pleasant weather. fol-
low the "lOwa" which cause the stormy weather
The lines on which these '.highs" and slows"
travel are very irregular In direction, speed, and
condition; there are numerous belts Of them. AZ
they are all the while on the move all over the
WORLD, causing areas OF stormy and pleasant
weather, ana all grades between, does 1t not
sons OF the .year-spriDe and fall-there should
be any peculiar effect from the passing Of these
lows" and "highs'f But, says the adherent TO
season Of the year. We have storms at all sea-
sons OF the year; some are more severe than
Others: no two are alike: Even the storm over
people were claiming as the 'equinoctial..
WI, Maat viii the people In other sections OF OF
say so
the result Of ''high') that we viii not dream Of a
storm, while In other places to the south, north.
STORM. Then the same Class OF people win claim
their storm as the "equin0ctiaL" II there was any
force to this idea 1t would seem that an ''eQufnoc-
and right on time; not mere local storm some
where Two weeks before or two weeks after, more
o. less Strictly speaking all storms are local, but
tain conditions we speak of one as general and the
other as local. The storm OF the nth to l3th was
Storm Had It been from ow coming up from
Texas and the Gulf it would have been cold
storm, and passed for a so-cslled 'northeaster.
atornado or cyclone 1t would be just as reasonable
to claim storm as the result of the sun In the
daily revolution, crossing the meridian OF Wash
ington or Greenwich, for there Is low some
where present when the sun crosses these points,
as well as when It crosses the points which we
term the "equinoHes." The earth, in its course
around the sun, and In its daily motion on its axis
knows no latitude or longitude, or even equator.
The sun shines ON all parts of the earth as they
are presented TO IT, TnefeDy the atmosphere Is
affected and different conditions produced. The
shighS" and the CLOVIS are thereby kept on the
move on general lines from the west toward the
east. Wherever the "highs" prevail there will the
conditions peculiar to them exist; and where the
"lowS' prevail there will their conditions be in
force. 1t must necessarily happen that one or
more flows" will be passing somewhere, on some
peculiar line, when the sun Is passing from the
north to the south or from the south to the north
OF the equator. new slow" In one of the belts is
passing over the OF the United States once In
four or five days. Sometimes they have run for
quite month, With regular four days Pc
Rod; but they are seldom so regular as this. Such
being the case, it is not surprising that a storm
should occur somewhere in the great area OF the
United states very near the goth Of March or Sep
TENDER. Because such happens to be the case, to
call that peculiar Storm when 1t Is pleasant
over three-quarters OF the rest OF the country an
'eQutnoctial," seems most absurd. Had not Glow
passed over or near that locality there would have
been no storm. Again, 1t is full as absurd TO think
that the sun as 1t passes over certain line OF at
tude or longitude should thereby have the power
to produce an Independent and local ''low" over
some narrow territory and hold 1t there as one
might pin piece OF paper to board. With all
the light the weather map has thrown upon this
subject, 1t would now seem too late In the day to
hold to old and absurd theories Rather 1t would
seem wisdom on our part to accept the facts They
are spread out before us every day, and day by
day they proclaim the great wonders or the atmos-
phere of our globe, whereby all things living are
able to exist. LPN.
WAsHINt,roN n e. Sent IL 1887